Thursday, April 3, 2008

Full text of this story is available for download. Movie version (25 minutes) is directed by Ed Kaplan. This movie version is also available on YouTube, probably with lower quality; but this online version is the only one I've seen. It's available in 3 parts: part 1, part 2, & part 3.

I personally found the movie incomparably more interesting than text version.

Note the movie is accessible even to those not comfortable with US accent. There aren't a lot of dialogs; it's close to a silent movie, though there are some dialogs. And voice is provided by superb artists; I found them far easier to follow than many Hollywood movies.

Story summary.

Imagine a world where it always rains, & heavily. It's dry & you see sun only for 1 hour every 7 years! In this story, Venus is imagined as such a world.

Now you have a classroom full of 9 year olds. Sun is due to be visible soon, but none of the kids remembers it - they were only 2 years old last time.

Except one kid - Margot. She arrived only 5 years back from earth. She has vivid memories of sunlight.

Just before sunrise, she's being teased by classmates & is locked up in a room as a joke. And forgotten. Until the sun has risen & set, & it's back to all rains.

Everyone is contrite when she's released. But how do you repair the damage?

Fact sheet.

First published: F&SF, March 1954.Rating: A for both movie & original text version.